More freedom, less bite – Styx: Blades of Greed review

Kim Muntinga

25.2.2026

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

Pictures: Kim Muntinga

Nine years is a long time – even for the world’s grumpiest goblin. Styx: Blades of Greed throws me into a vast semi-open world. But is it the real deal or just fool’s gold?

I’m waiting on a column ten metres above the ground, watching three guards. One is busy patrolling in a steady semicircle, another is leaning against a torch, yawning. The third one is standing right where I need to go. Rats!

The city of The Wall stretches out below me in a multi-level tangle of bridges, arches and crumbling structures built into the pillars of a colossal viaduct. The light flickers. Somewhere, a door creaks. And I think to myself: this is exactly the game I was hoping for.

It’s scenes like this that make Styx: Blades of Greed such a compelling experience. Cyanide Studio spent nine years working on the third instalment. There are moments when you can really feel this time investment in the level architecture, the paths leading through the world and the placement of the guards.

And then there are the other moments. But let’s start from the beginning.

Who – or what – is Styx?

For anyone who hasn’t yet had the peak pleasure of meeting the nastiest goblin in video game history: Styx is a small, green, razor-sharp master thief who’s been sneaking, climbing and killing his way through the complex fantasy world of the Iserian continent since the first instalment, Master of Shadows (2014). While the series has always lived in the shadow of big stealth blockbusters, it’s not for a lack of quality. With the levels’ clever, vertical design and a protagonist who’s a welcome change from the stoic killer archetype, the game has always been compelling.

I started Blades of Greed with clear expectations: I wanted Cyanide, the developer, to finally take the series to the next level. More freedom, more depth and less of that feeling of having your hand held through one prescribed path. The promises of an open world and new powers sounded promising and even wonderfully intimidating. Styx uncaged? That could be terrifically unhinged. Or terribly chaotic.

World and setting: three maps, one zeppelin and a world on the brink of war

The story picks up directly after the events of the second instalment, Shards of Darkness. Styx now has his own crew, a stolen zeppelin – which sounds more absurd than it actually is – and the same renewed target: obtaining Quartz, a mysterious glowing blue mineral he can not only steal but also absorb, which grants him supernatural abilities.

But there’s a catch: Quartz is dangerous, and somewhere deep inside Styx’s head, a voice named Flux starts whispering... The true meaning of it is revealed only one drop at a time – sometimes too slowly.

The three locations – The Wall, Turquoise Dawn and the Ruins of Akenash – are excellent in terms of core design. They’re separate, yet one motif connects them all: verticality. I’m constantly moving above, below and between structures.

The Wall serves as the game’s entry point. It’s a gigantic border fortress built into the arches of an equally gigantic viaduct, its height dizzying and its complexity astonishing. I keep discovering new layers, shortcuts and vantage points.

Akenash, the crumbling elven city, radiates a melancholy beauty I didn’t expect from a game of this scale. Turquoise Dawn contrasts with it. Instead of stone and order, nature dominates with footbridges, wooden platforms, and elevated paths that have an organic, unpredictable feel.

Unfortunately, the story is the game’s weakest link. It starts strong, but then gets lost in a loop of «fetch three Quartz, and then fetch some more» – sometimes for hours on end without a single cutscene. And when cutscenes do appear, some feel inconsistent or unfinished, with dialogue that doesn’t match the intensity of the scenes.

Stealth, movement and the joy of experimenting

Stealth gameplay has always been the series’ strength, and Blades of Greed continues that tradition. That being said, it’s not revolutionary. If you’ve played the prequels, you’ll feel right at home with the same core principles, the same philosophy. Observe, wait, strike at the right moment.

What’s new are the expanded and improved movement options – double jump, wall running, glider and grappling hook – as well as Quartz powers: Mind Control, Time Shift and Flux Blast. This gives the player more tools, more routes, more choice. A solid foundation. But it comes with a major flaw.

The AI behind the guards is unpredictable – and not in a good way. In a stealth game, the enemy’s intelligence isn’t a side note. It’s the very basis for tension. Unfortunately, Blades of Greed falters significantly in this respect. There are moments when I’m barely hidden, barely in the shadows... and a guard strolls past me without a second glance.

And then there’s the opposite: I sneak through a passage I’ve taken ten times without issue, only to be spotted through a wall. That’s not challenging stealth design. It’s inconsistency.

Here’s the problem: stealth games rely on the feeling that the guards are genuinely dangerous, that mistakes have consequences and success is down to your own cleverness. If the AI is blind one moment and clairvoyant the next, sneaking loses its appeal. On top of that, the enemies often seem dumb and indistinguishable from one another.

Crafting, on the other hand, works well. Potions, bolts and handfuls of sand all have a tactical use and are meaningfully integrated into the game. Extinguishing lights, laying traps and placing poisoned bottles adds depth and rewards foresight. Master the craft, and you’ll still find plenty of satisfying moments despite the AI issues.

Controls and camera

The game’s camera proves to be a weak point in tight spaces. And there are a lot of tight spaces in the Blades of Greed open world. Time and again, you lose the overview; climbing points will vanish behind a wall, exits will slip out of frame or the view will tilt into an awkward angle. This is less down to the world’s levels and more down to the camera. In a stealth game that relies on you being aware of your surroundings, it quickly becomes irritating.

On top of that, there are issues with the climbing controls. Styx sometimes grabs onto ledges automatically when you don’t want him to, or misses jumps because the camera misrepresents the distance. These imprecisions lead to unnecessary deaths on the regular.

This lack of precision also shows in open combat. Evasive moves don’t always register cleanly. Hit detection feels inconsistent at times, and in tight spaces I quickly lose control of the situation because of the camera. This is particularly frustrating because Blades of Greed treats combat as a last resort rather than a core mechanic. But even for the last resort, the controls and camera should be more reliable.

Apart from that, I didn’t encounter any technical issues in the traditional sense. Blades of Greed ran reliably in my test with no crashes, no obvious bugs and no drops in performance. It’s all the more frustrating that the camera and controls, which are the fundamental player-game interface, lack polish.

Styx: what happened to his edge?

There’s one point I can’t gloss over because it really bothered me. Namely, Styx has become calmer. Not in the sense of more mature, but in the sense of less edgy. The sarcastic remarks, the cheeky self-irony, the biting jabs at heroic ideals are still there, but toned down. And the supporting characters in his crew, who should provide contrast, are so bland and poorly voiced that I quickly forget all about them.

The Styx in Blades of Greed is still charming enough to carry you through twenty hours of sneaking. I still found myself chuckling at his rough-edged goblin quips. But if you loved the earlier games for their humour, you’re bound to feel a bit disappointed. While the goblin is still kicking, his sharpest tool – his personality – is now a bit dull.

Styx: Blades of Greed for PC was provided to me by Cyanide Studio. The game has been available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC since 19 February.

Kim Muntinga

Editor

Kim.Muntinga@galaxus.de

My interests are varied, I just like to enjoy life. Always on the lookout for news about darts, gaming, films and series.

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